BOSTON – The Hockey East season comes to an end as the No. 5 UMass Lowell hockey team (18-14-3, 11-10-3 HEA)) fell to the No. 2 Merrimack Warriors (23-12-1, 16-8-0 HEA)) in double overtime in the Hockey East Semifinals on Friday night at the TD Garden.
 
Freshman Scout Truman (Lethbridge, Alberta) scored the lone goal for the River Hawks with senior Jake Stella (Karlstad, Sweden) and freshman Owen Fowler (Tewksbury, Mass.) picking up the assists. Freshman Nick Rhéaume (Trois-Rivieres, Quebec) led the team with three blocks while graduate student netminder Gustavs Davis Grigals (Riga, Latvia) made 40 saves on the night.

"I thought the fans were treated to a pretty good hockey game tonight. I thought there were several chances by both teams. There wasn't a ton of goals, obviously, but that's been the story of our season a little bit. We haven't been able to finish as much as we'd like. This was just a microcosm of that," said Head Coach Norm Bazin. "Overall, I'm proud of our guys. There was not quit in them. We out shot them in the last three periods, which doesn't mean anything. But, at the same time, they were pushing, and I thought we were coming on as the game wore on."
 
The River Hawks got the jump on the Warriors early on, creating a few good chances on net, including a partial break for Zach Kaiser that was kept out to keep the game tied early on. Merrimack had an opportunity to break the ice, but Grigals flashed the glove to stop a diving effort. Minutes later, UMass Lowell had a great chance through Isac Jonsson who found space at the blue line looking for a doorstep tip from Kaiser that went just wide of the post.
 
Grigals looked calm between the pipes, making an incredible pad save late in the period to keep Merrimack off the board. The teams traded chances in the closing minutes but went into the first intermission scoreless. Grigals made nine first period saves.
 
UMass Lowell started the second with plenty of energy and established good offensive zone time in the opening five minutes but could not test the Merrimack goaltender. The River Hawks clogged the neutral zone and passing lanes to prevent the Warriors from making clean entries.
 
As the Warriors began to pick up the offensive pressure, Grigals remained solid in net and made several big saves to keep the game level. Merrimack's Mick Messner snuck behind the River Hawks' defense and had a breakaway chance, but Grigals made a great kick save and pushed the rebound away before being cleared by the defense. The Warriors had another high-quality chance shortly after and the UMass Lowell netminder once again came up big with another kick save.
 
Both sides had powerplay opportunities in the second, but neither side was able to break the deadlock. Solid defensive work from Brehdan Engum and Jon McDonald paired with a few more timely saves from Grigals killed the penalty and the teams went into the second intermission still scoreless. Merrimack outshot the River Hawks 22-7 through 40 minutes.
 
Merrimack came out flying in the third and had a high-quality chance in the opening minute. The wraparound attempt hit the outside of the goal before it was cleared from pressure. Owen Cole had a chance in the high slot, but saw his shot gloved down by Borgiel.
 
The River Hawks defense held strong as Merrimack upped the pressure. Owen Fowler, Jake Stella and Nick Rhéaume all blocked shots in the slot to keep the game scoreless. The Warriors found a way through with a near post shot to take a 1-0 lead with 10:26 to play. With time winding down, the River Hawks picked up the pressure looking for an equalizer.
 
The tying goal came with 31.1 seconds to play, and the goalie pulled as Owen Fowler's backhand pass found Scout Truman in the slot who fired a shot into the top corner. With the game tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation, the teams headed to overtime with a place in the Hockey East Championship on the line.
 
The overtime period was filled with relentless action on both ends of the ice. Grigals came up huge once again, making another kick save on a breakaway late in the period. The River Hawks had a flurry of chances just outside the Merrimack crease but could not find the back of the net. With the score still tied at 1-1, the game moved to double overtime.
 
Grigals stood on his head in the second overtime, but the Warriors found a way through just over halfway through the period to advance to the championship game.